Overview : Introduction and Background Information There is a considerable evidence that Malawi’s renewable natural resources, on which the country’s economy depends, are degrading at an alarming rate. Soil erosion is estimated to reach up to 57 metric tonnes per hectare per annum in some areas. Current studies show that a high prevalence of observable signs of soil loss is present in virtually all districts in Malawi. Analysis of soil loss rates revealed that the rate of soil loss was 26 ton/ha/yr in 2010, 29 ton/ha/yr in 2014 and that the current soil loss rate is 30 ton/ha/yr (FAO, UNDP, UN Environment, 2018). The unsustainable use of the country’s natural resource has major social and economic, including health, consequences. Thus Malawi is faced with two interlinked challenges of very high poverty levels and high rates of environmental and natural resources degradation. With respect to poverty levels, in 2010 Malawi’s poverty headcount ratio at the national poverty line was 50.7 % while the more inclusive Multi-dimensional Poverty Index indicated a poverty rate of 66.7 % for the same year. The majority of those living in extreme poverty are women and children. The Government of Malawi (GoM) recognizes how the sustainable use of natural resources can help achieve the country’s development objectives, including food security and poverty reduction. It has done so by, inter alia, including environmental sustainability objectives in the Malawi Growth and Development Action plan whereby Climate Change, Natural Resources and Environmental Management has been included as a Key Priority Area. In addition, Sustainable Land and Water Management is a pillar in the National Agricultural Investment Plan (NAIP) identified based partly on the studies of overcoming poverty in Malawi under PEI, the predecessor of Poverty-Environment Action. Most poor people, particularly women, reside in rural areas and are directly dependent on agriculture, lacking the capacity to cope with the problems of soil loss and hence are affected by the loss in agricultural productivity as a result of soil mining and environmental degradation. For example, soil erosion was estimated to keep 1.88m people in poverty between 2005 and 2015 (Benin et al, 2008)[1]. The 2010 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS) draft results show that the rate of stunting among under-five children is 37 percent (UNICEF,2018). This is a result of chronic food insecurity among the poor. Thus, this group of individuals suffer the most when the environment is degraded. It was against this background that the PEI in the 2016/2017 commissioned two studies (technical and economic studies) on the amount and cost of soil loss in Malawi at the request of the steering committee that oversees the implementation of the Poverty-Environment Action Project. The studies among other estimated in quantitative terms the level of soil and nutrient loss in the districts and identified areas of hotspots where the soil and nutrient losses where highest. |